Thou shall not wilt — believe in your inner ability
View(s):Though his deliveries do not contain any freebies, Rangana Herath in general is a nice bloke who likes to live by what he believes in. Right now his stocks are worth a weight in gold. Yet, like a kid he was delighted by the praises heaped on him by his coach Graeme Ford.
"I always thought that we were just one win away from making a comeback," Herath said, and Sri Lanka made it 3-0, that against the World No.1, Aussies
When Herath was hit by that Hazlewood snorter, his ball-guards got damaged so badly that parts of his genitals were stuck in between and to free him of that agony was an operation of its own, according insiders. He had received a terrific blow to his groin and he was definitely impaired and in severe pain. He hardly could walk. Yes, he retired from his batting turn after that blow, but was back in action on one foot — bowling. This time he had to use his whole body to deliver his left arm leg spinners because the pain was so severe. But, he was rewarded with a seven-wicket haul and a tin of white paint to change the complexion of Aussie cricket forever. Promptly Ford changed his favourite athlete from Federer to Herath.
Yet, describing the win Herath was humble. He said, “I always thought that we were just one win away from making a comeback”.
At once I remembered a remark made earlier by Lankan cricket manager Charith Senanayake who said the very same words prior to the series. Now I believe that the Lankan cricketers had that feeling boiling inside them, but, they did not how to convert that intuition into reality.
Now I believe that these inner feelings come more from conviction than intuition. I remember way back in 1995, the then Lankan cricket chief, Ana Punchihewa, came with the slogan “Best Test playing nation by the year 2000”. Like I was sceptical about the optimism of Senanayake earlier, I remember a very senior foreign correspondent was also sceptical about Punchihewa’s belief, but he had to change when Sri Lanka brought home the ICC cricket World Cup in 1996. Though these inner feelings come out as convictions, they become cornerstones when the convictions turn into reality.
How do the Australian cricketers perform so consistently in general? Because the system makes them believe that they are the best and keep working towards that goal with the aid of all new technology and coaching methods.
I presume that even coach Graeme Ford worked with a certain belief. He gave up a good thing that was already his in the county circuit and took up a challenge in Sri Lanka when the Lankan chips were down. At that juncture it was as though a spell has been cast upon the Lankan cricket with the retirements of giants Mahela Jayawardena and Kumar Sangakkara. I feel even I was a part of that blasphemy of spreading that down notion. But today once the win was sealed, hardly anyone talks of the two giants.
As for Ford, the T-20 title defence was a total disaster. Though the Lankans could not pocket a win in England, there were signs that the Lankans had it in them – the ability to turn around. One of the most significant achievements that the Lankans had is the growing up Dinesh Chandimal as the ‘centre figure’ in Lankan batting. When there is a ‘centre figure’ the rest of the tree grows under its shade. Prior to the England tour though Chandimal kept on contributing, the rest of the top order was shy of taking the cue.
In the first innings of the Test at Pallekelle, the Lankans lost three wickets for 18 runs and there Chandimal scored 15 runs to start a partial recovery, but, the loss of Mathews at that point led to Lankans losing their nerve and the usual slump inevitably followed – all out for 117.
Yet, in the second inning when young Mendis was shaping up well, Chandimal once again appeared in the middle and his innings of 42 runs and the 117 run fifth wicket stand turned the game on its head. Mind you even in that inning the Lankan inning read a tentative four down for 86 runs. While Chandimal scored 42, young Kusal Mendis’ contribution was 62 at juncture. But, the youngster kept growing in confidence during that innings. In the second Test, Chandimal’s contribution was not significant, though the Lankans won the game, but, in the third Test, once again the Lankans were in trouble at 5 for 26, until Chandimal found a willing partner in Dhananjaya de Silva. Together they added a 211 run stand and turned the game into a different dimension.
Then in the second inning of the same game while Kaushal Silva was fighting for his life, Chandimal sedately milked a 90 run stand for the sixth wicket. Once again the Lankans were back in contention.
This proves that the players around Chandimal are growing in confidence and that is becoming a basic factor for the Lankan batting revival. For instance, once it was with the one-drop Kaushal Silva (in spite of six stitches on his batting web) that Chandimal had a match saving stand. Then it was a stand of 117 runs with number four batsman Kusal Mendis – both those came with the top order. Then the other came for the sixth wicket with Dhananjaya de Silva. This means Chandimal has been batting along with batsmen on both sides of the fence.
Then take the bowling. The Australians came to Sri Lanka with the intention of making a difference. It is learned that in the lead up to the series, they batted in local conditions with Muttiah Muralitharan and an Indian left arm operator bowling at them. Yet, at the end of the day, the two youngsters, Dilruwan Perera and Lakshan Sandakan, believed in the abilities of Rangana Herath and they together became a better composition than the Australians could offer.
Talking of home advantage with the Australians always had a reverse effect. In the first series in Sri Lanka in 1982, it was off spinner Bruce Yardley and left arm spinner Tom Hogan who stumped the Lankans. Then in 1992, it was Gregg Mathews and Shane Warne who pulled the rug under the Lankan feat at the SSC grounds.
When the Lankans beat the Australians in a series for the first time in 1999, Shane Warne and off spinner Colin Miller were among the Lankans wickets. For that matter in that game Chaminda Vaas and Nuwan Zoysa were responsible for nine of the eighteen wickets to fall, while Muralitharan finished with a match bag of seven wickets.
In 2003 once again Shane Warne , Stewart MacGil and part timer Darren Lehman formed the spin combination to beat the Lankans while in 2011 it was Nathan Lyon who pulled the ‘puss’ out of a Galle strip to bag five wickets for 35 runs to beat the Lankans and take the series.
This is the only occasion that the Lankans took proper advantage of the home advantage. This clearly proves that, the Lankans have begun to place their pawns in the rights squares. Mathews is maturing as a leader, but should ease off his responsibility at the top of the batting order. In this manner he may be able to contribute more. At the same time, Ford had understood his responsibility and given the Lankans the reason to believe in their own abilities.
Yet, the next time around the Zimbabwe and especially the South African proposition are going to be different. By overtaking the South Africans in the ICC rankings the Lankans have instilled fear in the minds of the Proteas. With the two tier segregation proposal at hand, no Test playing country enjoys being in the seventh position of the ICC rankings. Next ‘Boxing Day’ there is no doubt the Lankans will have to face a barrel full of bouncers when South Africa takes Lankans in the first Test in December. Yet, we are confident that the Lankans will be in a better state of mind, with the ammunition they have added to their larder in the coaching department of late.
Now off to the one-day series.
ICC Test rankings: 1 India (112 points), 2 Pakistan (111), 3 Australia (108), 4 England (108), 5 New Zealand (99), 6 Sri Lanka (95), 7 South Africa (92), 8 West Indies (65), 9 Bangladesh (57), 10 Zimbabwe (8).